Al-Ahram Weekly Online 20 - 26 September 2001 Issue No.552
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue | Previous issue | Site map

In times of need

While the United States mourned the thousands who died in last week's odious attacks, hundreds of Palestinians in Lebanese refugee camps were marking another massacre. Nineteen years ago, on 16 September, thousands of Palestinian women, children and men were slaughtered in Sabra and Shatila by men equipped and protected by current Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

The US administration expressed its regret at the time, but there were no calls for an international coalition or an alliance to stop Israel's aggression against Palestinians and other Arab countries.

Things have been much the same since the Palestinian uprising began a year ago. The appalling scenes from Washington and New York, therefore, seemed all too familiar to the Palestinians. Over the past year, US-made F-15s and F-16s have been bombing and shelling their homes. Over three million Palestinians are strangling under a tight siege and deprived of their fundamental right to free movement. Not only has the United States refused to call on Israel to stop its barbaric violence; it has staunchly opposed any attempt to condemn Israeli policies.

How can the United States expect the Arab countries to join a coalition against terrorism if it will not acknowledge and address the harm it has done the Arabs, whether directly or through its regional proxy?

In the Gulf War, Washington came to realise that, if it wanted to deter those who threaten its security and interests, it could not depend on Israel, although it has been arming that bellicose state to the teeth for decades. Today, the United States needs the world's help, including that of the Muslim and Arab countries. But they will not cooperate with Washington if Israel is part of an international coalition against terrorism. Their point is simple: the country that has been terrorising the region for half a century hardly qualifies for membership in such an alliance.

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